Door lock



G. MADLAND Oct. 18, 1966 DOOR LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1963 GABRIEL MADLAND TOE ATTORNEYS G. MADLAND Get. 18, 1966 DOOR LOCK 4 Sheets$heet 2 Filed Dec. 13, 1963 R D mN mm N 1 Wm M L E R B A G ANN I II II Fwa 57% ATTORNEYS G. MADLAND Oct. 18, 1966 DOOR LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 13, 1963 NVENTOR. GABRIEL MADLAND ATTORNEYfi G- MADLAND Oct. 18, 1966 DOOR LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 15, 1963 NOE INVENTOR. GABRIEL MADLAND ATTQRNElS United States Patent 3,279,839 DOOR LOCK Gabriel Madland, Egersund, Norway, assignor to Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 330,460 2 Claims. (Cl. 292284) This invention concerns a door lock combination for securing a sliding door and is particularly adapted for use on railway house car doors mounted for sliding or rolling along a door track.

In its broadest sense the door lock combination of the instant invention may be used for either double or single door cars. When used in connection with single car doors, the lock secures the door to a steel support adjacent the front or leading edge of the door and when used with double door arrangements, the lock is on the edge of the auxiliary door such that when the auxiliary door is locked in fixed position, the front edge of the main door is secured thereto against sliding movement.

In a broad sense the door lock combination of the instant invention includes an elongated hasp having a transverse opening which is pivotally mounted on the side of a sliding door by means of a hasp fastener attached to the door. On an adjacent fixed structure a locking member having a vertically oriented base with spaced outwardly and horizontally extending upper and lower bracket portions at the upper and lower ends respectively of the base is mounted. Each of the bracket portions of the locking member have central vertically oriented openings in substantial alignment with each other. A locking pin is provided which has converging opposite sides with one of the converging sides tapered and the opposite side straight. Within these opposites sides are provided elongated oppositely disposed recesses of different lengths with the bottom of the larger one of the recesses lying substantially closer to the end of the pin made narrower by the converging sides.

All of the elements are of dimensions which permit the hasp to be mounted between the bracket portions with the hasp opening and the bracket openings in substantial alignment to form a substantially vertical opening to receive the pin. The upper bracket has a fixedly mounted projection which extends into the larger recess in the pin. Also on the locking member is a pivotally mounted cam member for selective manual movement into and out of the smaller pin recess to permit limited movement of the pin out of the lower bracket and the hasp opening for disengagement of the hasp from the locking member. The fixed projection insures against loss of the pin by its retention of the pin in the upper bracket opening even during disengagement of the hasp. A lever is pivotally mounted on the locking member for selective engagement with the hasp to facilitate manipulation of the hasp into and out of alignment with the brackets and to effect the corresponding door take-up or movement of the door into and out of engagement with the adjacent fixed structure.

The pivotally mounted cam member has an opening which aligns with an opening in the hasp when the cam is located in the smaller of the pin recesses so that a security seal may be placed through these openings. As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the seal will of necessity be broken when the cam is moved out of the small recess in the pin to enable the pin to be moved clear of the hasp to permit unlocking of the hasp from the locking member to open the door.

Many complex and varied prior art devices for performing the locking function on sliding doors have been devised, but all have had disadvantages which the instant invention has been designed to obviate. The primary complaints against the prior art locking mechanisms are that Patented Get. 18, 1966 they have resulted in inadvertently broken seals, lost locking pins, and bent pins. The versatile locking device of the instant invention has been designed to positively eliminate these problems by providing a locking mechanism which is more secure than those previously used.

The shape of the locking pin of the instant invention is extremely important in providing the advantages of the combination in that its single side taper requires only one half of the take-up or final movement of the slidable door to the locked position. In addition, it has been found that the novel pin of the instant invention because of its shape has resulted in a reduction of the upward forces exerted on the pin during use so that the seal cam member and its positive limitation of the. upward movement of the pin insures that the pin cannot be disengaged from the hasp before the seal is broken. The fixed projection which engages the larger recess in the pin provides insurance against lost and bent pins because there is an increased positive holding of the pin at the upper bracket due to the strong laterally oriented fixed projection which blocks the path of movement of the pin by engaging the lower end of the larger recess.

The locking mechanism of the instant invention incorporates other advantages, particularly when used on double door cars, because no separate opening and closing arrangement is needed as has been commonly required by prior art devices. This is true because by use of the instant invention with its horizontally mounted operating lever attached to the lock, it has become possible to make the main door of the double car doors interchangeable with a single car door without a change of hardware. In addition, the use of the instant locking mechanism on double door cars has provided a substantial weight savings by elimination of the separate opening and closing arrangement previously used.

With the problems of the prior art devices in mind and the advantages of the instant invention broadly treated, it is a general object of this invention to provide an improved locking mechanism for house cars which eliminates inadvertently broken seals and lost and bent locking pins.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a locking mechanism of improved design which is useful on both double and single door cars.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a locking mechanism for sliding house car doors which utilizes a pin having different lengths of recesses on opposite sides thereof to insure that the pin cannot disengage the hasp before the seal is broken and further to insure that the pin will not be lost.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide an improved shaped pin having a single tapered side to reduce the amount of take up required in locking a door and to minimize the upward forces exerted on the pin when it is in locked engagement.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a locking mechanism which can be used on both double door and single car doors so that the main door of a double door car will be interchangeable with the door of a single door car.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description to follow.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation showing a lock combination of the present invention applied to a single door construction of railway house cars with the door in locked and closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a detailed elevational view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 1 with the unlocked position of the elements in the combination dotted in;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating the door in unlocked and slightly open position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 1 with certain parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is 'a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 77 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the pin for use in connection with the lock combination.

In the drawings, a single door house car is illustrated as having a sliding door 1 with novel locking means thereon, which are generally designated by the numeral 2. The door 1 is of the type generally known in the art as a lift door and includes a handle 3 and corresponding lifting mechanisms 4 and 5 operated thereby in a manner known to those skilled in the art. The lifting mechanisms 4 and 5 engage a track 6 for selective movement thereon by means of rollers 7 and '8 respectively. The general structure of door 1 includes bottom retainers 9 and 19 in engagement with the track 6 and a top retainer structure 11 cooperates with other conventional structural members to hold the door in aligned position for sliding movement upon actuation of the lift mechanism by the lever 3. The door 1 has a forward or front edge 12 and a rear edge 13 and when the door is moved into closed position against a front stop 14, the rear edge 13 and the front edge 12 make a weather tight seal with the door opening.

The forward or front stop 14 is mounted on a front post or fixed structure 15 as is best shown in FIG. 5, together with metal sheathing 16 by means of a plurality of conventional fasteners or rivets, in a manner Well known in the art.

A post protective member or strip 17 cooperates with a rear weather strip 18 in known manner when the door 1 is in closed position. Suitable top edge structure 19 and weather guards 20 are provided and these members cooperate with the top retainer 11 and an inside header 21 for holding the door in aligned position on the track 6 just outside of a threshold plate 22. The details of construction of the sliding door and surrounding structure, as described, are by way of environment and may be varied, as will be readily recognizable to those skilled in the art. As previously mentioned, for instance, the fixed structure defined by the front stop 14 and front post 15 may be functionally replaced by a secured auxiliary door of a double door car. Accordingly, the door 1 represents either a single door or the main door of a double door car.

The locking means of this invention, generally designated by the numeral 2, includes an elongated hasp member 25 having a vertical opening 26 therethrough. The opening 26 has three substantially straight sidewall portions and a slightly curved or tapered forwardmost inner wall portion 27. The hasp 25 is pivotally mounted on the door by means of a bore 28 in one end of the hasp which cooperates with a hasp fastener 30. The hasp fastener 31) is a plate-like member having a forwardly projecting tongue 31 which forms an eyelet or closed curved bar portion at its end 32 which is of slightly smaller crosssectional diameter than the diameter of the hasp bore 28, such that the hasp 25 is relatively loosely supported on the fastener for vertical and lateral pivotal movement.

The hasp fastener 30 has a plurality of apertures 33 through which rivets or other conventional fasteners 34 pass to secure the fasteners 30 to the panels of the door 1. Appropriate hasp fastener retaining plates and fillers 35 are interposed between the hasp fastener 30 and the surface of the door 1 to distribute the stresses and insure that the forces exerted on the hasp fastener by the hasp will not damage the door and pull the fastener from its seat.

It will be readily recognized that other means of securing the hasp fastener 30 to the door 1 may be utilized, such as welding, bolting, etc. The hasp 25 is of sufiicient length that it projects from its mounting bar 32 on the hasp fastener 30 past the forward edge 12 of the door 1 and past the stop 14, which is fixedly attached to the forward post 13. The hasp opening 26 is located at a point intermediate the ends of the hasp 25 such that when the hasp is horizontally extended and the door closed, the opening 26 is in a position directly opposite the post 15. The hasp 25 has an appropriate contour including an S- shaped bend 37 to provide a clearance around the outermost projecting portion of the edge 12 of the door 1, and the rivets holding the paneling of the door 1 to the edge 12. Because of a relatively loose fit of the bore 28 with respect to the holding member 32, disposed therein, the hasp 25 is free to pivot on a horizontal plane outwardly from the door a suflicient amount to insure clearance of these portions of the structure.

Mounted on the post 15, on the outside of the stop member 14 and the marginal portions of the sheathing 16, is a locking member 4t). The locking member 5% has a vertically oriented elongated base which is welded or otherwise attached to a lock support or bracket member 4-2. The lock support member 42 is a generally elongated member having a U-shaped cross section with flanges 43 parallel to the flat base of the U, which are suitably apertured for receiving rivets 4-4. Rivets 44 pass through projections which are an integral portion of the post 15 to secure the extended portion of the forward stop member 14 and the overlapped marginal portion of the metal sheathing 16 together with the bracket The locking member 40 is a casting or fabrication mounted on the fiat front wall 45 of the support or bracket 42 by means of welds such as shown at 46 of FIG. 7-. The locking member 40 has a vertically oriented base portion 48 which is in face-to-face engagement with the surface 45 of the support 42. A generally channelshaped slot 59 extends transversely across the locking member 46 in a substantially horizontal direction to define an upper bracket portion 52 and a lower bracket portion 54 extending from the base 48. In the upper bracket portion 52 is a vertically oriented opening 55 and in the lower bracket portion 54 is a vertically oriented opening 56. The openings 55 and 56 are in substantially vertical alignment to provide a substantially vertical passage for receiving a locking pin 6d.

Locking pin 60 comprises an elongated body with opposite sides 61 and 62. The side 62 has a tapered portion 63 which converges toward a straight side 61 to form a narrow end 64 on the pin 6%). Along the straight side 61 of the pin 60 over a substantial portion of its length is a groove or recess portion 65 having a generally U-shaped cross section. On the opposite side 62, a similarly shaped, somewhat shorter recess or slot 66 is provided with its bottom wall 67 a substantially greater distance from the end 64 of the pin than is the bottom wall 68 of the recess 65. The relative lengths and positions of the opposite recesses 65 and 66 are important for reasons to be explained hereinafter.

The locking pin 69 is of such dimension as to permit its receipt in the openings 55 and 56 of the upper and lower brackets 52 and 54 respectively, and the channel 50 is adapted to receive the intermediate portion of the hasp 25 with its vertical opening 26 in substantial alignment with the openings 55 and 56. The hasp 25 is placed in this position by movement of the hasp laterally toward the locking member 40 through pivotal movement of the hasp on the hasp fastener bar 32 located in the enlarged, loosely fitting bore 28 at the end of the hasp. The tapered surface 27 in the bore 26 of the hasp is adapted to cooperate with the tapered portion 63 on the pin 60 such that when the pin is in position in the vertical passageway formed by the bores 55, 56, and 26, the pin 60 holds the hasp snugly and firmly in place.

In order to avoid having to exert tremendous forces on the pin to take up the door to tight engagement, the

end 70 of the hasp 25 has an opening 71 therein. The hasp end 70 is located on the side of the locking member 40 opposite the door when the hasp 25 is in position with the pin 60 in the opening 26. A lever 72 is pivotally mounted on integral lug 73 of the locking member 40 by means of a pin 74 in a bore 75 through the locking member lug 73. The lever 72 has a projection 76 intermediate the ends thereof which extends upwardly adjacent to the hasp opening 71, such that a headed projection 77 on the end of the extension 76 may be selectively set into the opening 71 to cooperate therewith and transfer either forward or rearward motion to the door through the hasp 25 and the hasp fastener 30.

The lever 72 and the cooperating structure is a takeup means whereby the door may be snugged up into proper position before the pin 60 is placed in the locking position. The provision of this take-up lever 72 minimizes the necessity of driving the pin 60 into the pin receiving passage formed by the bracket openings 55 and 56 and the hasp opening 26, and further insures that the pin may be moved easily from engagement with the hasp 25 when it is desired to unlock the door.

It will be seen in this connection that the bore 71 and the projection 77, which is fixedly attached to the lever 72, are suitably dimensioned to insure that when the lever 72 is in its uppermost, or released position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, the hasp 25 may be swung out of the channel 50 of the locking member 40 and the bore 71 will clear the projection 77. It also will be seen that when the lever 72 is in the take-up and locking position, a flange 78 on a projection 77 will eliminate any possibility of the hasp 25 springing out of engagement at its end 70 with the projection 77. Of course, the danger of this happening is not present when the locking pin is in the fully locked position since the pin not only prevents axial movement of the hasp 25 but also restricts transverse movement out of the channel 50 between the brackets 52 and 54.

Pivotally secured to a lug 79 on the upper bracket portion 52 of the locking member 40 is a sealing cam 80 mounted on pivot pin 81 in aperture 82. The sealing cam 80 has a projecting nose portion 83 for cooperation with the shorter recess 62 of the pin 60 when the pin 60 is in locking position. When the sealing cam 80 is thus received in the recess 66, it will be seen that the portion 83 because of its obstruction of the end 67 in the recess 66 will positively prevent upward movement of the pin out of the locking position, and accordingly it is required that sealing cam 80 be manually pivoted to the position dotted in, in FIG. 2, before the locking pin 60 may be lifted out of the openings 55 of the lower bracket and 26 of the hasp to the point where the hasp 25 may be removed from the channel 50.

Also mounted on the upper bracket 52 within the channel 55 is a fixed projection 85 which is in the form of a rivet having a head 86 and a shank which extends through the wall of the upper bracket 52 into the passage 55. The fixed rivet or pin 85 is secured as by weld 87 so that it is firmly mounted therein. The pin 85 cooperates with the recess 65 of the locking pin 60 to limit its upward motion by causing the abutment to interfere with the bottom 68 of the recess 65 to prevent movement of the locking pin 60 out of the vertical opening 55 of the upper bracket 52. The dimension of the recess or slot 65 of the pin 60 is such that taken with the position of the projection 85 in the opening 55 of the upper bracket 52, the pin is permitted to move upward to a point which clears the pin end 64 of the hasp opening 26 to permit movement of the hasp 25 out of the channel 50. By means of the cooperation of the projection 85 and the recess 65, the locking pin 60 may not become lost since it cannot be removed entirely from the upper bracket of the locking member 40.

Accordingly, the sealing cam 80, when in the recess 66, limits movement of the pin 60 out of the openings 56 and 26 of the lower bracket 54 and the hasp 25 respectively, and the fixed projection limits movement of the pin 60 out of the opening 55 of the upper bracket 52, when the sealing cam 80 is not in the recess 66.

As is well known to those skilled in the railway house car art, it is often necessary in the transport of goods by rail, to seal the house cars with security seals to insure that the lading has not been tampered with enroute. The sealing means contemplated in the instant door lock utilizes an opening 90 in the lower face of the seal cam 80 and an opening 92 in the adjacent top portion of the hasp 25. The position of the openings 90 and 92 on their respective elements is such that when the locking pin 66 is in position in the vertical passageway formed by the upper bracket opening 55, the hasp opening 26 and the lower bracket opening 56, the seal opening '90 is in direct alignment with the opening 92 in the end 70 of the hasp 25. Because of this alignment between the openings 90 and 92, the security seal may be passed through these openings to make it impossible to move the seal cam 80 from the pin recess 66 for removal of the hasp 25 and the opening of the door without destroying the seal.

It is important to notice, that the configurations of the various elements, including the tapered surface 63 and the seal cam 80, are such that the locking pin 60 may be put in place without separate manual manipulation of the sealing cam 80 because of the tapered surface 63 which will engage the cam portion 83 to pivot the sealing cam member 80 outwardly until the cam 80 is free to pivot about pin 81 into the recess 66 when the pin 60 reaches the locking position.

After the pin 60 is firmly fixed in the passageway formed by the upper bracket opening 55, the hasp opening 26 and the lower bracket opening 56, the end 64 of the pin is exposed below the lower bracket 54 and an aperture 95 in the end 64 of the pin 60 is accessible, because of the recessed portion 96 on the rear side of the pin 60, for the passage of a padlock or other suitable means. The aperture 95 is provided such that an additional positive lock may be placed on the pin. When a padlock has been placed through the aperture 95, it will be obvious that it would be impossible to move the pin 60 upwardly because of the padlocks interference with the relatively closely fitting walls of the opening 56 of the lower bracket 54 and the opening 26 of the hasp 25. Consequently, use of such a positive optional locking means is contemplated to provide for complete locking of the house car door 1.

From the description, it will be obvious that the locking member and its support 42 can be attached to any fixed structure against which the movable door 1 might close and the description of the forward stop means 14, the post 15, and the sheathing 16 in connection with the illustrated embodiment is by way of example only. It will be well recognized that the bracket 42 could be attached to an auxiliary door on a double door car where the door 1 would act as the main door and slide into engagement with the secured auxiliary door for lock-ing engagement therewith through use of the hasp fastener 30 of the hasp 25 and the locking pin 60 in the same functional manner as described in connection with the embodiment illustrated.

The principles of the invention have been set forth in connection with but a single illustrated embodiment showing the fixed post structure of a single door car. It is not my intention, however, that the illustrated embodiment nor the terminology employed in describing .it be limiting inasmuch as variations of these may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Rather, I desire to be restricted only by the scope of the appended claims.

55 I claim: said pin out of said second bracket Opening and said 1. A door lock for securing moving door structure hasp opening to permit disengagement of said hasp comprising: from said locking member, a

an elongated hasp having an opening therethrough, said movable member having an opening in alignment a hasp fastener movably supporting said hasp, 5 with a third opening on said hasp when the portion a locking member having an elongated base with spaced of said movable member is located in the second first and second brackets extending transversely from of said pin recesses. said base, 2. The door lock of claim 1 in which said movable each of said brackets having an opening substantially member has a cam surface engageable by said pin as aligned with the opening of the other bracket, 10 said pin is moving toward the locking position within the an elongated pin having opposite sides with elongated pin passageway for moving it from its position to enter oppositely disposed recesses of unequal length in said the second of said pin recesses. opposite sides with the bottom of a first and longer of a said recesses lying substantially closer to one end References Cited y the Examiner 53 g p p be d b f 15 UNITED STATES PATENTS sat asp, 00 mg mem r, an pin eing o lmensions which permit said hasp to be mounted between 1 33% said brackets with said hasp opening and said bracket a a oway openings in substantial alignment to form a sin 1 19D0837 3/1934 'Beauchamp 292 283 g 6 2,177,325 10/1939 .Madland. elongated pm passageway for receipt of said pin, 20 2 301 116 11/1942 Gusbeth a fixedly mounted projection on said locking member 8/1949 tjj; X

extending into said first and longer pin recess to prevent complete removal of said pin from a first FOREIGN PATENTS bracket opening and a movable member mounted on 5 476,165 8/1951 dasaid locking member for movement of a portion of said movable member into and out of the second EDWARD ALLEN Pnmary Examl'ler of said pin recesses to permit selective movement of RICHARD E. MOORE, Examiner. 

1. A DOOR LOCK FOR SECURING MOVING DOOR STRUCTURE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED HASP HAVING AN OPENING THERETHROUGH, A HASP FASTENER MOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID HASP, A LOCKING MEMBER HAVING AN ELONGATED BASE WITH SPACED FIRST AND SECOND BRACKETS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID BASE, EACH OF SAID BRACKETS HAVING AN OPENING SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE OPENING OF THE OTHER BRACKET, AN ELONGATED PIN HAVING OPPOSITE SIDES WITH ELONGATED OPPOSITELY DISPOSED RECESSES OF UNEQUAL LENGTH IN SAID OPPOSITE SIDES WITH THE BOTTOM OF A FIRST AND LONGER OF SAID RECESSES LYING SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSER TO ONE END OF SAID PIN, SAID HASP, LOCKING MEMBER, AND PIN BEING OF DIMENSIONS WHICH PERMIT SAID HASP TO BE MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID BRACKETS WITH SAID HASP OPENING AND SAID BRACKET OPENINGS IN SUBSTANTIAL ALIGNMENT TO FORM A SINGLE ELONGATED PIN PASSAGEWAY FOR RECEIPT OF SAID PIN, A FIXEDLY MOUNTED PROJECTION ON SAID LOCKING MEMBER EXTENDING INTO SAID FIRST AND LONGER PIN RECESS TO PREVENT COMPLETE REMOVAL OF SAID PIN FROM A FIRST BRACKET OPENING AND A MOVABLE MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID LOCKING MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT OF A PORTION OF SAID MOVABLE MEMBER INTO AND OUT OF THE SECOND OF SAID PIN RECESSES TO PERMIT SELECTIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID PIN OUT OF SAID SECOND BRACKET OPENING AND SAID HASP OPENING TO PERMIT DISENGAGEMENT OF SAID HASP FROM SAID LOCKING MEMBER, SAID MOVABLE MEMBER HAVING AN OPENING IN ALIGNMENT WITH A THIRD OPENING ON SAID HASP WHEN THE PORTION OF SAID MOVABLE MEMBER IS LOCATED IN THE SECOND OF SAID PIN RECESSES. 